Yakuza has been a name in the zine world for a while now, covering punk rock and travel experiences for about four years. The previous issue was a fun little 7" x 7" black-and-white xeroxed zine, split half and half with another zine called Runt. As a bonus, it contained a seven-inch single. The new issue is 8 1/2" x 11", features a full glossy cover, nicely printed paper and a CD featuring Lee Ranaldo, Zen Guerrilla, Cobra Verde and plenty more. What gives? This issue also features a Caterpillar tour diary, an excerpt from a forthcoming novel by Nicole Panter, and an interview/conversation between two asthma sufferers. Each essay and article is interesting in its own right, as editor Dave McGurgan has a good sense of what will fly and what won't. The only downside is the $8.95 cover price, no doubt inflated to cover the cost of pressing the CD, most of which consists of previously released material. For that price, it's really not worth it unless you're a die-hard Lee Ranaldo fan who must know about his trip to Morocco. While you shouldn't judge a magazine by its cost, the line has to be drawn somewhere, and it should have been drawn about two dollars sooner.